As Leaders Work to Address Drought in the West, Boebert Ignores Colorado River Crisis
Boebert Votes Against $4 Billion to Fight Drought, Silent as Colorado River Basin States Face Mandatory Cuts
Woody Creek, CO – This week, leaders across the Western United States focused on addressing the ongoing drought in the region and the overallocation of the shrinking Colorado River. Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was mum on the crisis, voting against funding to fight drought and staying silent as seven Colorado River Basin states missed a federal deadline to come up with an agreement on how to reduce water use. Western slope businessman Adam Frisch, who is running to unseat Boebert in Colorado’s Third Congressional District, highlighted the sitting representative’s failure to respond to the ever worsening crisis:
Frisch issued the following statement:
“Ongoing drought in the Western U.S. is putting the livelihoods of everyone in CO-3 on the line, but particularly the farmers and ranchers who put food on all of our tables. While I was encouraged that Congress approved $4 billion in drought funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, I was troubled to see that the very person who should be fighting for our farmers and ranchers voted against this funding. Western states missed the federal deadline to come up with a solution to protect the Colorado River on Tuesday, and this is a crisis that isn’t going away”
“We face serious issues that require serious representatives at every level of government – particularly in Congress – who will work hard to find solutions for their constituents. What we don’t need are representatives like Boebert, who is solely focused on her Twitter following and being a leader of the anger-tainment industry. When elected, I will always fight to protect Colorado’s water and make sure we have a seat at the negotiating table when decisions are being made that affect our water supply.”
Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act Friday, which in addition to driving down inflation and the deficit, provided $4 billion in drought resilience funding to shore up the Colorado River and its reservoirs. Farmers and ranchers in the region rely on Colorado River water to keep our communities fed, but the river is rapidly dwindling as the West faces an unprecedented drought.
Boebert voted against the measure, calling it “one of the most dangerous bills ever proposed” and shouting in opposition on the House floor before having her microphone cut after ignoring warnings that her time had expired.
On Tuesday, the seven Western states that rely on Colorado River water, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah, failed to meet a federal deadline from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to find a way to voluntarily cut water usage to save at least 21% of annual flows from the river as it hits historic lows. These cuts are needed to preserve the future of the Colorado River, which 40 million Americans rely on for their water supply, and protect hydropower production and other critical infrastructure at Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
Boebert was mum on the issue as Colorado Basin states failed to come up with a solution and states faced mandatory cuts. Boebert instead spent time tweeting from Florida about Liz Cheney and the FBI at Mar-a-Lago
